The Panavia Tornado multirole combat aircraft of the Royal Saudi Air Force crashed at 04:41 AM local time in Asir Province on 12 July.

According to Arab Coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki, a Saudi Arabian Royal Air Force Tornado jet came down in Asir region.

“The aircraft was returning from a training mission when it crashed in the southern region due to a technical failure,” said Al-Maliki.

The pilot and navigator, is reportedly, ejected from the aircraft before it crashed and after they were airlifted to hospital.

The Royal Saudi Air Force currently operates about 100 British-made Tornado aircraft, including both the strike-optimized Tornado IDS and Tornado F3 ADV long-range interceptors.

Saudi Tornado GR4 ground attack fighters are playing a central role in the Royal Saudi Air Force’s bombing campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. And by this, some sources report that the plane could be shot down by rebels.

The Tornado is a multirole aircraft is operational in five different forms: interdictor strike aircraft for close air support; counter air attack and defence suppression;  tactical reconnaissance aircraft; long-range maritime attack aircraft andlong-range air defence fighter.

According to the airforce-technology.com, the Tornado entered service in 1980 and ceased production in 1998. The Tornado was manufactured by Panavia, a consortium of BAE Systems, EADS (formerly Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace) and Alenia Aeronautica.